International experts answer your questions about the choices, controversies, and decisions faced by the parents and educators of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Question from P.T., California

I have a son who was born deaf but has a cochlear implant. he doesn’t want to pick up on spoken language so im introducing sign language to him. He also has many developmental delays and was wondering what would be the best way to go about teaching how to sign.

This is a tricky question, not one that can be addressed fully on this site. There are so many questions that need to be asked! Crucially, I would want to know things like: How old is the child? How long since he had his implant, and has he been wearing it consistently? Are you sure the technology is working correctly and that your son was mapped correctly? What do we know about these other developmental delays?

Importantly, we need to know what is meant by “doesn’t want to pick up on spoken language.” This is an interesting and unusual way of phrasing this, and I would need to know how you have reached this conclusion? It is only with this sort of information that we can give you any clear advice. Plus, assessments describing the child’s progress or lack of progress from the pre-implant stage to now would be very useful indeed.

The next step would be to think about what you mean by sign language. To professionals this may be very clear, but to parents it can mean many different things. Are you looking to use signs to support spoken language? Or, are you looking at a whole new language? Using simple signs to support spoken English would be a great place to start. Learning a language like American Sign Language would require a big commitment from you and other family members. And, she would need to explore at length whether your child’s developmental delays might act as a barrier to language learning – sign languages are not an easy option!

I think you really need to talk to your local professionals, so the whole family can all think about what you are trying to achieve with your child and refocus on the goals. Importantly, if they tell you either that you must not sign with your son or that he will never achieve spoken language, you should look for another opinion. There is no “black and white” here, you are asking about a complex situation that likely does not have any simple answer.

About this Website

This website was created to serve as a source of factual information for parents, teachers, and others interested in the raising and educating of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It has no philosophical orientation or agenda beyond being able to offer evidence-based answers to questions aimed at improving opportunities and outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children children. Drawing on high-quality, peer-reviewed research, the site is dedicated to providing a better understanding of the strengths and needs of deaf children rather than perpetuating myths and misunderstandings. Questions will be answered by members of the Center for Education Research Partnerships (at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf), members of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, or one of a group of international experts who has volunteered to participate in this project.